Tough guys don't think

I don't know who the readership of the Army Times is. I don't know if the people who post comments there are military personnel or not. I do know that if they represent any significant fraction of the Armed services, Obama isn't going to get many of their votes. Reading comments on an article introducing Barak Obama, I have to conclude that I'm looking at the least informed, most bigoted, prejudiced, stupid and absolutely rabid Americans at large in the world. Despite John McCain's disgraceful attitude toward military benefits and pay and despite his enthusiasm for continued occupation of Iraq and the opening of new fronts with the old arguments, he seems the choice of the men with shaved heads.

Obama is a communist, muslim insurgent pacifist appeaser coward, you see and he represents, amongst other things, the no longer existent USSR. Actually any accusation, any idiotic epithet seems appropriate without concern for things and events or contradictions having anything to do with the real world. His wife is a traitor, he's a terrorist and worst of all, he's never worn a uniform. McCain has, and that makes all the difference.

Am I imagining it, or has our military in effect seceeded from mainstream American culture? Radical hairstyles that once would bring severe repremand are de rigeur. Contempt for civilians seems almost worthy of third world armies and war -- any war -- is a worthy war. I hope I'm being truly misled by what I read, but even among the many retired military officers I associate with here, I'm hearing a contempt for democracy in principle and for the indecisiveness and weakness of civilians. What I'm seeing is the search for another Commander Guy who has never had a doubt about anything the US has done or a scruple about anything we might do in the future: another strutting drum major, another prancing cheerleader who knows nothing about economics, history world affairs, international politics - but looks good in a flight suit. Five years in jail trumps five years at Harvard and hot rod Johnnie doesn't have a wife who ever had a doubt about American exceptionalism whether it be about Slavery, wounded knee, Jim Crow, the trail of tears, the Chinese exclusion act, Joe McCarthy, Father Caughlin, the internment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry, Kent State, the Gulf of Tonkin hoax, the WMD hoax, the Niger Uranium hoax or abu Ghraib. We're number one.

Of coure it's not hard to be paranoid these days or to feel that these are dangerous times, but I see very little danger from "terrorists" and none from invading armies. I see and smell danger from creeping nationalism, Xenophobia, militarism, Christianism and all the massive polarizations tearing us all apart. Read it yourself. See if the comments about Obama reflect anything but the howling of beasts.

I'm not sure Obama ever refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance or whether Richard Nixon wore a lapel pin to bed at night. I dont care either. I wouldn't give a flying damn if Obama were a Muslim or his grandparents were "typical white people." I'm not sure if I've been proud of a damned thing this country has done in my lifetime other than liberating Western Europe, defeating the Empire of Japan or landing on the moon and those were a long time ago. I'm not sure how many people really think like these people, but I am sure of one thing -- if it's their country come next year, it's not my country any more. They can have it.